The Bridge Homeless Assistance Center, located in downtown Dallas,has received two prestigious national awards for its design: the AmericanInstitute of Architects’ (AIA) 2009 AIA National Housing Award and the AIA/Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Award. San Antonio-based Overland Partners Architects, in conjunction with Dallas-based CamargoCopeland Architects, provided architectural services for the center.

Completed in May 2008 and commonly known as “The Bridge,”the multi-purpose facility is dedicated to providing safe haven and social services for more than 6,000 homeless people in Dallas, empowering boththe chronic and newly homelessto come off the streets and sustain permanent housing in order to live productively.Unlike traditional homelessassistance facilities that resembledark warehouses and gymnasiums,The Bridge features translucentwalls that allow natural light toflood into residential areas, glassart created by Gordon Huetherwas selected to design andfabricate a site-specific artwork forThe Bridge. Huether created sevenart glass windows that featuremouth-blown glass and etched,silk-screened text from writings bysome of the shelter’s clients. panels inscribed with poetry written by the homeless.

“With our design, we aimed to not only create a facility that provides the most basic human need, shelter, but to also create a space that encourages and welcomes outside organizations, volunteers and donors to provide the helping hands that our homeless population needs,” said Rick Archer, FAIA, LEED-AP, founding principal of Overland Partners. “Since the doors to The Bridge opened, the center has been more successful than anyone anticipated. It has been widely accepted by homeless people, and the facility, which was designed for 400, now handles up to 1,000 people a day.”

The Welcome Building’s common room and reception are clearlyvisible from the street and the courtyard.

The success of The Bridge is tangible as well. The surrounding neighborhood is revitalizing, downtown crime has dropped since it opened, and complaints about homeless people from business owners in the central business district have decreased. Center operators also say they have reduced the need for hospitalizations, jail bookings and arrests.

A vegetative roof floats above the dining room. The indoor/outdoor eating area acts an extension of thecourtyard.

As described by the jury for the AIA 2009 Housing Awards, “a publicly-selected artist worked with homeless, superimposing their writings over brightly colored glass - a metaphor for the spectrum of humanity. Facing downtown, The Bridge is a gift to the community, a magnet for the homeless, and a source of inspiration. It proves that shelters should not be isolated, but an integrated part of our community; they are valuable civic buildings representing the compassion of our society.”

The Sleeping Pavilion (converted warehouse) opens into the Courtyard, Services Building and the City beyond

Facing downtown, the transparency, light, and colors from the dormitories and classrooms act as a beacon of hope to the homeless at this most difficult time of day.